MC Opi

MC Opi
MC Opi
Background information
Birth name	Janette Oparebea Nelson
Born	(1971-04-10) April 10, 1971 Chelsea, London, United Kingdom
Genres	Hip hop, Dancehall, Dub, Trip Hop, Deep House, Progressive House, Electronica, Electroacoustic, Experimental, Dark Ambient.
Instruments	Bass guitar, drums, piano, celtic harp
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Mushroom Australia, EMI, Polygram, Phonogram, Wintrup Musikverlage
Associated acts	Massive Attack, Christine Anu, Paul Kelly, Lucky Dube.
Website	opinelson.com

Janette Oparebea Nelson, (born 10 April 1971) known by her stage names MC Opi^[1][2] and Opi Nelson,^[3] is a multi-instrumentalist, spoken word artist, music and documentary producer.

The Monthly Australia's popular magazine of politics and arts wrote Nelson "blazed a trail as a producer and guest artist" ^[4].

She is most known for being the first female Hip Hop and Dancehall artist to receive national recognition in Australia for her guest performance on Christine Anu^[5] (ARIA award winning Australian indigenous singer and song writer) and Paul Kelly^{[6][7][8] [9][10][11]} (a prolific ARIA Award winning Australian folk singer and songwriter), on their debut 1994 ARIA nominated 'The Last Train',^[12][13] listed No.61 on national radio, Triple J's 1993 Hottest 100. Later she was both a writer and guest performer on the award winning 1995 ARIA Best Indigenous Release and ARIA Platinum Album 'Stylin Up'^[14] .^[15][16]

Nelson was an underground Hip Hop, Dancehall and Dub poet and producer who met Christine Anu, whilst acting in a cast of eight, alongside Christine Anu and Barry Otto^[17] (AFI Awarded Australian actor), in the 1993 musical theatrical production The Trials of Brother Jero ^[18] written by Nigerian Nobel Prize playwright and activist Wole Soyinka.^[19]

Before 'The Last Train's' success in 1994, she was known for her work in Australian hip hop TV and radio. She was the first hip hop artist to be a reporter and assistant producer on the first Australian dance music show SBS TV's 'MC TEE VEE'^[20] and Alternative Arts Show 'The Noise'^[21] (produced by one of Australia's prolific TV producers, Annette Shun Wah^[22]). Her MC Tee Vee interviews included The Beastie Boys,^[23] Lucky Dube,^[24] and others.

At the age of 19 years old, she co-produced, with Jaslyn Hall^[25][26](Triple J^[27] and Womadelaide^[28] producer), the 1990 Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio documentary 'Women on the Rhyme' the first ABC radio documentary about Australian female hip hop artists. This documentary featured interviews with Charlene (Def Wish Cast), No.1 Jamaican & US female Dancehall artist Shelly Thunder, New Zealand Hip Hop Group Moana and the Moahunters and others.

Early life and Family

Nelson was born in Chelsea, London, United Kingdom and has Ghanaian, Australian Indigenous and Irish heritage.

She grew up amongst London's social and racial tensions as well as London's punk rock and reggae music scenes in the 1970s. Her parents divorced during these turbulent times. In 1979 she left Britain with her mother to live in Sydney, Australia.

Nelson's niece is MZ Porsche,^[29] a female West African Ghanaian Hip Hop artist who has achieved national recognition in her country and like Nelson, she is a multi-instrumentalist.

Collaborations

In 1994 after her 93' guest performance on Christine Anu's debut single 'Last Train', Nelson collaborated further on Anu's debut Album 'Stylin Up'.

Late 1993 Nelson was spotted by internationally acclaimed Australian indigenous artist, filmmaker and photographer Tracey Moffatt.^{[30][31][32][33]} Moffatt invited her to be an assistant director and have a cameo role alongside the late INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence in the notorious parody INXS 'The Messenger' video which was a track from INXS's 'Full Moon, Dirty Hearts' Album.

In the same year, Nelson also collaborated with David Thrussell (SNOG, and Black Lung) an Australian musician and a prolific composer, Russell Kilbey (The Crystal Set), and Dare Mason ^[34](a producer and composer who has worked with internationally notable bands The Church, Placebo and Kraftwerk) on the progressive house and industrial dance mini EP 'Get Lost' Sex Industrie^[35],Polygram Australia.

2000 to Present

In 2000 she produced her solo industrial dark wave project Jezebel Complex^[36][37] which Australian Broadcasting Corporation Producer, Tim Ritchie, played on the ABC National Radio show 'Sound Quality'.

Nelson was 16 years old, when she began working in analogue reel to reel music and radio production at Radio Redfern 88.9 (a community radio station in Redfern, Sydney, Australia)^[38] during the mid to late 80s and she used both analogue and digital production to record her 2008 solo project 'The Black Hole Lovers^[39] '.

In 2009 she studied the Masters, Digital Media at The College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales, Australia gaining distinctions in the subject 'Sound Construction and Design.'

Late 2012 Nelson left Australia and returned to her birthplace London. In 2013, she continued to work on her solo music project 'The Black Hole Lovers', whilst working at The University of Cambridge and Oxford University.

She has recently returned to one of her former occupations TV production, her web TV show 'DotsWaves TV' is scheduled for 2015, and showcases Noise, Graffiti, Street, Music and Digital Hybrid artists around the globe.

Notes

External links

• Official website